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21 January 2025
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Housing affordability is shaping up as a major topic as we head toward the next federal election. The Coalition's proposal to allow home buyers to dip into their superannuation has merit, though misses one key feature.
Australia needs to build new homes like never before but construction firms keep going belly up. Unless regulators act now, consumers will continue to carry the can.
Why has a succession of inquiries and reports, along with a plethora of academic papers, not led to effective action to improve housing affordability? Because the work has been aimless and unsupported by a national consensus.
Asset pricing remains buoyant and equity markets continue to chase financial assets over real ones. As the gap between ‘growth’ stocks and the rest widens further, investors need to decide which side to jump.
A new report from Vanguard has found an increasing number of Australians expect to be paying off a mortgage in retirement, or forced to rent. A financially secure retirement is no longer considered a given.
With Australia’s population moving through the fastest rate of growth since the 1950s, our cities and towns are naturally densifying. This is a look at the latest trends and how they will impact the property market.
Baby boomers will account for a third of population growth between 2024 and 2029, making this generation the biggest age-related growth sector over this period. They will shape the housing market with their unique preferences.
China is three years into a bear market and a number of investors have written it off as 'un-investable'. That spells opportunity given the problems appear manageable and great businesses are now trading at cheap prices.
The Australian welfare system, including the Age Pension, was designed on the assumption that older people own their home and can age there. But new research shows this to be far from true for many of us.
Like negative gearing, discounted capital gains tax, especially on residential investment properties, is criticised for giving investors an edge over first-home buyers. A discount is justified but at what level?
Australia has lagged many developed countries in providing top quality rental accommodation owned by institutions, but it is changing, driven by social preferences, affordability and investor needs.
Labor's proposed policies on negative gearing and capital gains may come at a time when residential property is already weak, and it's unlikely to make buying a property easier for first-home buyers.
Last year, I wrote an article suggesting returns from ASX stocks would trample those from housing over the next decade. One year later, this is an update on how that forecast is going and what's changed since.
The housing market was subdued in 2024, and pessimism abounds as we start the new year. 2025 is likely to be a tale of two halves, with interest rate cuts fuelling a resurgence in buyer demand in the second half of the year.
The renowned investor has penned his first investor letter for 2025 and it’s a ripper. He runs through what bubbles are, which ones he’s experienced, and whether today’s markets qualify as the third major bubble of this century.
This examines the performance of key asset classes and sub-sectors in 2024 and over longer timeframes, and the lessons that can be drawn for constructing an investment portfolio for the next decade.
Key lessons include expensive stocks can always get more expensive, Bitcoin is our tulip mania, follow the smart money, the young are coming with pitchforks on housing, and the importance of staying invested.
Check out the most-read Firstlinks articles from 2024. From '16 ASX stocks to buy and hold forever', to 'The best strategy to build income for life', and 'Where baby boomer wealth will end up', there's something for all.